Business Woman Turned Designer
When Louisa started her online store three years ago she never expected it to grow as quickly as it has. To date, the entrepreneur has sold over two thousand products and been featured in a number of different publications. Despite her growth in sales, Louisa still hand makes all of her designs in her New York City apartment to ensure that every customer is happy with their product.
The designer's company/store is called "Olive Bella" and she told us that her mother was her main inspiration behind opening up her own shop. Growing up she watched her mother knit amazing pieces and it awakened something inside her. However she did not unleash this creative passion right away and began working as a Marketing Database Manager at a start-up company in New York City. While working here she was once again inspired to create and opened up her shop in 2015. Today, Louisa still works at that same company while also running Olive Bella.
Her biggest motivation for keeping this shop running despite her hectic schedule is the feeling she gets from creating something special for someone, "I love the feeling of creating something that's meaningful to someone's life. It warms my heart to hand-make each and every product and see the creation from start to the moment the jewelry piece create new memories for the customer."
Currently her studio is her 600 square foot apartment that she and her husband share so in the future she hopes to move to a much bigger space. Once in this larger space she wants to accumulate more tools and supplies so that she will be able to offer new products and expand her business.
Louisa's shop carries every type of jewelry that you can imagine from earrings to bracelets to necklaces. The designer uses a lot of gold and silver along with rustic designs. It is clear the the eye that she is inspired by nature so it wasn't surprising when she told us just that, "I'm inspired by everything in nature from my travels. You'll find everything from leafs, mountains, birds, stars and moon. The mountain necklace was inspired by the majestic Andes mountains at Patagonia in Chile and Jungfrau region in Switzerland."
Making her products serves as a therapeutic experience for Louisa which is not out of the ordinary for designers. Many people feel that they can only truly express themselves and their feelings through their art.
Olive Bella carries a lot of amazing pieces including zodiac jewelry, mother-daughter necklaces and friendship jewelry. Her prices are affordable so this is a great place to get a cute, meaningful gift for everyone in your life. Louisa uses gemstones, rope, beads and even leather in her designs so there is something for every style!
My favorite piece in her shop is definitely the constellation necklaces because they are simple and delicate enough to be worn anywhere. I'm a sucker for versatility and non of Louisa's designs are too fancy that you will look out of place wearing it in your day to day life. Oddly enough these necklaces are also Louisa's favorite to make, "My favorite piece so far is the zodiac necklace. I just love making this necklace because of the sentimental meaning to my customers. It means different things to different customers but it gives me a lot of satisfaction knowing what I am creating is something that the receiver will hold dear to her heart."
If you are looking for a gift for the upcoming holiday season check out Olive Bella for unique, handmade gifts!
By Kristen Catalano